really know what she’d like, so he picked out this one because it was colorful and vibrant and it smelled delicious, which reminded him of her.
“These are beautiful, Rafe. Thank you.” She kissed him, just a brief brush of her lips across his, but it was the first time she’d kissed him in front of her grandfather, so he figured that was a big deal.
He cleared his throat and stepped away.
“So, Felice was just telling me she was in the army.”
Felice went over to the stove. “I met my husband, Ronald, there. He was in charge of large equipment, and I was a mechanic. So our paths crossed quite a bit.”
“That’s fascinating,” Rafe said.
“My stint in the military paid for both of our college educations,” Felice said.
“Beer?” Carmen asked Rafe.
“I can get it.” He went to the fridge and grabbed a beer while listening to Felice tell the story of her relationship with her husband and how they juggled college while having their son.
“It wasn’t always easy, but we made it work.” Felice looked over at Jimmy. “You know what it was like back then.”
Jimmy nodded. “Tough times. Carmen’s grandmother and I didn’t have much, but we had our daughter and a small place to live. And I brought enough home to put food on the table, and Maria did some housecleaning when she could, so every little bit helped.”
Rafe knew what it was like to have nothing, when even a little seemed like a lot. “But you both made it work.”
“We did,” Felice said.
“And we were happy,” Jimmy said. “You’ve got to find your happiness no matter where you are in life, don’t you, Felice?”
Felice glanced across the room at Jimmy and sighed. “That you do.”
Rafe exchanged glances with Carmen. She gave him a knowing smile.
Yeah, Jimmy and Felice had a serious romance going on.
“Anything I can do to help?” Rafe asked.
“No, you sit,” Felice said. “Carmen and I have this under control.”
“She’s teaching me how to make spaetzle,” Carmen said.
At his questioning look, Carmen added, “Noodles. German noodles.”
“Oh, cool.”
“You could put the sausages on the grill, if you’d like.”
“Consider it done.” He got up and took the sausages out of the fridge. Jimmy went outside with him and helped him get the grill ready.
“You look stronger,” Rafe said, noticing how much time Jimmy spent on his feet these days. “Must be all that hot sex you’re having. Helps build muscle.”
Jimmy choked out a laugh. “No comment.”
“But you like her—Felice.”
“A lot. More than a lot.”
Rafe studied him as he waited for the grill to come up to the right temperature. “So you’re in love with her.”
“Yeah.”
“That’s great, Jimmy. I’m happy for you. Felice seems like an amazing woman.”
Jimmy stared into the house with a smile before turning his attention back at Rafe. “She is. I think I realized I was in love with her when she took a step away after her son had reservations about us.”
“But that’s resolved now, right?”
“Oh yeah. He and I got a chance to sit down together. I told him I loved my wife as much as she loved his dad. That there would never be anyone like that for either of us, but that both of us deserved some happiness. He understood that. Felice told me that her son said he couldn’t ask for a better guy to look after his mom.”
Rafe smiled. “That’s a great thing to say. You must have been relieved to hear that.”
“You have no idea.”
Rafe put the sausages on, then took a long swallow of his beer.
“I want to ask Felice to marry me.”
Rafe blinked. “Really? Does Carmen know that?”
“Not yet. I have to talk to Carmen about it first. Make sure she’s okay with it. And I need to ask David, Felice’s son, too. And then if they both say it’s okay, I’ll ask Felice.”
Rafe blew out a breath. “Big steps, man.”
“Don’t I know it. But I want her in my life. I want to wake up next to her every day and go to sleep next to her every night.”
Rafe turned the sausages, then closed the grill. “I hope it all works out for you, Jimmy. I want you to be happy.”
“Thanks. I want the same for you. And for Carmen.”
Uh-oh. He wasn’t sure where this was leading. He hadn’t had a chance to talk to Carmen about his feelings about her, and he didn’t want to have the conversation with Jimmy before he had it with Carmen.
He knew how he felt about her. He was